U Zaw Nyo
|name = U Zāw Nyō |honorific-suffix = |native_name = |image = Maharraja-ganga-singh-ji-of-bikaner.jpg |imagesize = 150px |caption = Zaw Nyo in 1943 |order = 9th First Minister of Rajia |monarch = Pho Kyaw Yin II |term_start = 18th July 1923 |term_end = 12th December 1945 |title2 = Leader of the Rajian National Party |term_start2 = 23rd January 1928 |term_end2 = 12th December 1945 |predecessor2 = Position established |successor2 = Sa Win Yi |predecessor = Htit Yu |successor = Ba Thin |birth_date = Zaw Nyo 22nd June, 1889 |birth_place = , Rajia |death_date = 12th December 1945 (56) |death_place = , East Rajia |constituency = |party = Rajian National Party |rhouse = |spouse = Lakshmi Bhattacharya |multiple_spouses = |children = Santanu Nandita Geeta Oopali Sniti |residence = |alma mater = |alma_mater = |profession = , , |religion = Harhavadha Khalisism |signature = |languages_spoken = Rajian English |allegiance = (1914 - 1918) Rajia (1923 - 1950) |branch = Rajian National Army |rank = |battles = Rajian Campaign Rajian Civil War }} U Zāw Nyō (Rajian: , 22nd June, 1889 - 12th December 1945, age 56) was a Rajian and , , and . He served as the Prime Minister of Rajia between 1931 and 1945 as well as being the founder and first leader of the Rajian National Party, a leading force in the Rajian independence movement. Zaw Nyo also served in the as a for the during before later creating the Rajian National Army where he appointed himself as it's . Born in a wealthy family of bureaucrats and lawyers in 1889 when Rajia was under the rule of the House of Rai Sharma who were puppets to the British, Zaw Nyo originally aimed trained as a lawyer before enrolling in the British Army, serving in the during . After the war he quickly abandoned his legal studies instead focusing on political theory and theology studying in before returning to Rajia in 1921. By this time Zaw Nyo had started to harbour a deep resentment towards with Zaw Nyo beginning to campaign towards Rajian independence by forming the Rajian National Party. During the 1920's Rajia was thrown into political chaos as the Maharajah was unable to confront growing demands for constitutionalism and republicanism. A staunch advocate of Rajian Nationalism and Harhavadha Khalisism Zaw Nyo led the 1923 Rajian coup d'état with support from the army, being appointed the First Minister of Rajia by Maharajah Pho Kyaw Yin II who hoped that Zaw Nyo would stabilise the country and continue the monarchical regime. Zaw Nyo, a keen moderniser, started to limit the powers of the raja's reducing Pho Kyaw Yin to a puppet figurehead. In order to distance himself from and other in Rajia Zaw Nyo rejected and , banning all political parties save his own and ruling Rajia as a one party totalitarian state. Under his rule its estimated over 2 million people were killed, mainly from Rajia's Muslim community. Under Zaw Nyo Rajia dramatically modernised, with industrialisation and land reform being implemented, eroding the colonial economy as Rajia became one of the most industrialised states in (although per colonial agreements the industrial goods were mostly shipped to Britain). Zaw Nyo also drastically militarised Rajian society, taking inspiration from fascist movements in Europe and Reza Shah in Iran. He began to consolidate power into that of his government, a move which threatened British colonial interests. The outbreak of World War II saw Zaw Nyo help lead a coalition of nationalists and monarchists known as the Rajian National Army against colonial forces, with the intent of creating a "Greater Rajia". In 1943 Japan launched an attack on the islands with Zaw Nyo collaborating with them. This resulted in further anti-monarchist and communist insurgencies across Rajia with Zaw Nyo conducting a brutal campaign to crush dissent across Rajia. Japanese forces were driven out of Rajia in 1945, as communist troops stormed the capital. Zaw Nyo went into hiding as his government collapsed, still coordinating continued fighting between nationalist and communist forces as the Rajian Civil War started. During the civil war Zaw Nyo and the Rajian National Army to continue to fight communists, although their military weakness started to become more apparent as they were deserted by former monarchist allies. In December 1945 Zaw Nyo was captured in communist held territory, where he was subsequently executed leading to the breakup of the Rajian National Army. Today, Zaw Nyo remains a influential figure both among the and of Rajia thanks to his extensive religious, political and sociological theories. Many historians cite Zaw Nyo as being one of the key figures in the and movement in Rajia helping fuel the nationalist insurgency and later communist movements despite being a fervent . Zaw Nyo has also been labelled a , , and by his critics with his strict views of social hierarchy often being a point of debate among his followers. Zaw Nyo's religious theories have similarly been as divisive with some stating that his interpretation of Harhavadha Khalisism was fundamentalist and helped fuel the modern day Khalist fundamentalism movement. In more practical terms Zaw Nyo's economic policies led to Rajia's economic modernisation resulting in Rajia's subsequent positive economic growth. Despite having being heavily criticised by the Rajian government since his death, Zaw Nyo remains a popular figure within Rajia and his teachings (colloquially known as Nyoism) still form the basis of the and movements of Rajia. History Early life Zaw Nyo was born in the town of Bassein on the 22nd June, 1896. He was part of the Zaw Nyo family, a large wealthy middle class family of merchants, lawyers and royal bureaucrats, having close links with the royal family. At the time Rajia was a with the monarchy having nominal power whilst in reality the and colonial companies held real political sway. Zaw Nyo's family was strictly with Zaw Nyo being brought up in a local religious school that taught not only literacy and mathematics but also Harhavadha Khalisi values and history. At the age of nine Zaw Nyo was enrolled into a colonial school, where he was taught the and British culture. Whilst at colonial school Zaw Nyo was forced to pray to the , which he deeply resented, often sneaking out of Church to attend the local Khalisi temple. At the temple Zaw Nyo often passed himself off as a peasant child beginning to use the working class dialect and slang. Zaw Nyo frequently clashed with his missionary teachers over the nature of the Christianity, causing his father to beat him in front of his classmates for disobedience. Zaw Nyo for the rest of his life however blamed these beatings on "the twisted words of Christians who corrupted my good fathers conduct." At the age of 18 Zaw Nyo was pressured by his family to pursue an education in , with the hope that he would inherit the families tradition of being a . Although it was his father's original intention to send Zaw Nyo to to study but instead Zaw Nyo instead signed up to the into the officer class along with many of his peers, who formed the Bassein Five, a group of Rajian military officers from Bassein. These included noted Rajian nationalist San Shwe who would later prove to be a defining influence on Zaw Nyo. World War One The outbreak of saw Zaw Nyo and other members of the Bassein Five transferred along with many other Rajian regiments to serve in the in the against the . Zaw Nyo himself was mainly confined to help serve officers dictating strategy rather then become involved in the actual fighting, partly through the influence of Zaw Nyo's father. Zaw Nyo was able to raise through the ranks thanks to continued family influence as well as showing military competency in the . The Bassein Five typical of many Rajian officers often clashed with Indian officers. As Rajia was not officially a colony of Britain and was mainly a protectorate propped up by the British government Rajian officers had much less say in the formulation of strategy. Nevertheless Zaw Nyo enjoyed more military glory, especially following the successful in December 1914. During the early days of the war Zaw Nyo was quick to distance himself from the extreme nationalist members of the Bassein Five such as Ngo Hlaing and Wai Myint, enabling Zaw Nyo to climb through the ranks of the British Army. During 1915-6 Zaw Nyo served with distinction in the and the , but was largely kept from the front lines doing administrative work from May 1916 onwards alongside other members of the Bassein Five. During his long stints doing administrative work Zaw Nyo published several pamphlets advocating Rajian nationalism and being . He was relived from duty in October 1918 following the , having been promoted to . Studies abroad Following the end of the First World War Zaw Nyo travelled to Britain to study at the to continue studies in war. However, he instead started to study . He started to write about Rajian nationalism and the role of imperialism in the "colonial world", being a critic of the European colonial establishment. He wrote approvingly of the , seeing it as a "defender against the west in Asia" and called for all uncolonised nations to follow in Japan's example. He condemned the ideals of liberalism, democracy and socialism, writing that liberalism would inevitably lead to . During his time in Britain Zaw Nyo wrote for the and the , although he was asked not to the write for the papers following his writing of anti-colonialist articles. Whilst studying in Britain Zaw Nyo was convinced that Rajia needed to modernise, but in order to do so it could not accept liberalism, which Zaw Nyo theorised had impended and slowed development in the west. He continued his studies within Britain, completing his in 1921. Return to Rajia In August 1921 Zaw Nyo returned to Rajia, intent on ending colonial rule and restoring Rajia's glory. He joined the Royal Rajian Army whilst creating the Rajian National Party, a nationalist organisation based around ending colonialism in Rajia. Using his family links Zaw Nyo quickly ascended through the military's ranks, whilst building up a network centred around officers from the Bassein region. World War Two Nationalist insurgency Death Legacy Views Family Honours * Rajia: Order of the Golden Tiger, first class. * Rajia: Maharajah Pho Kyaw Yin II Royal Medal * Rajia: Order of the Crown of Rajia, grand collar. * Rajia: Knight-Commander, Order of the Exalted Royal Guards of the Maharaja * : * : * : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum Category:Individuals Category:Rajia